Footwear having replaceable uppers



June 6, 1950 L. E. KUTCHER 2,510,236

FOOTWEAR HAVING REPLACEABLE UPPERS Filed Dec. 15, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR. [0M5 flY/TCf/E/P BYW- June 6, 1950 L E. KUTCHER FOOTWEAR HAVING REPLACEABLE UPPERS 2- Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 13-, I945 INVENTOR. Lou/s E. KUTCHER HIS ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 6, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOOTWEAR HAVING REPLACEABLE HPPERS Louis E. Kutcher, New York, lair. Application December 13, 1945, Serial No. 634,740

2 Claims. (01. 36-115) have been suggested for detachably connecting the uppers to thelowers, but little, if any, success has been attained with these arrangements. The disadvantage of these prior expedients is that they do not provide a secure and unobtrusive connection between the upper and sole.

Slide fasteners are visible, of course, and they cannot be applied in such a way as to assure an attractive and smooth connection between the upper and the sole.

Attempts to use cords and wires for securing the uppers to the lowers have not been successful, in practice, for the reason that they do not effect a tight and secure connection at the concave peripheral portions of the sole, for example, around the shank of the sole. Such cords or wires tend to follow the shortest path and, as a result, pull away from the concavities, thereby either releasing the upper or producing an undesirable gap between the upper and the sole.

Preformed or preshaped wire retainers are not very satisfactory, for such retainers must be very stiff to be effective and, as a result, considerable difficulty is encountered in applying the uppers to, or releasing them from, the soles.

Despite the disadvantages of the prior constructions, the idea of providing separate uppers and soles has merit for the reason that it makes possible the provision of a great variety of uppers for use interchangeably on a single sole, thereby permitting the shoes to be used with different color or designs of garments without requiring completely different shoes for the various garments.

An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide shoes having interchangeable uppers that may be secured to, or detached from, the sole with ease and which can be fixed securely to the sole in an unobtrusive or attractive manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide footwear having interchangeable uppers that may be attached b means of an easily manipulated flexible member, and which can be secured firmly to the sole even at the concave peripheral portions of the sole.

Other objects of the invention will become ap- 2 examples of footwear embodying the present invention.

In accordance with the invention, I have provided footwear such as, for example, shoes, clogs, sandals, slippers and the like with detachable uppers and soles in which the uppers have loops or open end hems formed in their peripheries for receiving a cord or other similar flexible member that is adapted to be drawn into a groove or grooves in the periphery of the sole to secure the upper to the sole. A particular feature of such footwear is the provision of transverse openings or passages through the sole for receiving the cord to anchor the upp r securely to the sole and to draw the edges of the upper into concavely curved peripheral portions of the sole, the upper conforming to the contour of the outer curved edge portion of the sole even a straight line in the concave edges of the sole.

The uppers may consist of the usual toe covering portion and a strap or counter portion for securing the shoe to the foot. The several portions of the upper may be formed as a unit or may be completely separate. They may be made of leather, fabric, or any other type of material used in the manufacture of shoes and they may be supplied in different colors or in different designs in order to harmonize with different ensembles.

The soles may be formed of wood, cork, or plastic materials as is common in clogs and sandals or they may be of conventional construction including a leather tread portion, the usual rigid shank portion, and a leather or composition heel.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a typical clog embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is' a perspective view of the lower of such a clog;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the upper of the clog;

Figure 4 is a rear view of atypical shoe having a counter portion secured thereto.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the sole of the clog with the upper shown in section in a plane of the sole broken away to disclose details there- Figure 6 is a view in section taken on line 6-6 of Figure 5; and

Figure 7 is a view in section taken on line 1-1 parent from the following description of typical of Figure 5.

The forms of the invention chosen for purposes of invention are illustrative, only, of the invention and are susceptible to considerable modification in style and design.

The clog illustrated includes a sole III which, as shown particularly in Figure 2, may be formed of wood, cork or plastic material and has a tread portion Illa, a thick shank portion Illb, and a heel portion II'Ic. Inasmuch as the sole is formed of solid material, the heel portion lllc is not cut away from the shank portion "lb; and the shank portion IIIb, therefore, is of substantial thickness or height between the undersurface llld and the foot-supporting surface IIJe.

As best shown in Figure 5, the foot-supporting surface llle is shaped to conform generally to the conventional outline of the human foot and, therefore, is transversely narrower at the shank portion lIIb than it is at the tread and heel portions Illa and IIIc, respectively. The shank portion I no therefore has generally concavely' curved side edges If and H19.

The upper I I, as best shown in Figures 1 and 3, may include a toe covering portion Ila. and an ankle strap portion llb. The toe covering portion Ila may be formed of a shaped piece of fabric or other material providing an open toe portion He, a curved upper edge Ild fitting over the instep, and lower edge portions He and III which conform generally to the shape of the tread portion Illa.

The strap portion Ilb includes an arcuate piece of fabric or other material Ilg which extends upwardly from the sides of the heel portion lllc, rearwardly behind the heel and may be provided with a strap portion llh adapted to extend across the front of the ankle and be secured by means of a buckle H1 carried by the strap portion Hg. The lower edges lIk and llm are shaped to conform generally to the periphery of the sole III at a zone near the forward edge of the heel portion IIIc.

A groove l2 of substantial depth is formed around the periphery of the sole Ill adjacent the foot-supporting surface IIIe. Also, at opposite ends of the shank portion lb and communicating with the groove I2 on opposite sides thereof are transverse passages l3 and I4 which are used for securing the upper to the sole. If desired, notches I5, I 6, I1, and I8 may extend upwardly from the groove I2 at opposite ends of the passages I3 and I4 for a purpose to be described.

The upper II is secured to the sole III by means of a cord or other flexible element l9 which is threaded through the edges He and II! of the toe covering portion I la, these edges being formed as loops or hems. The cord I9 is drawn tightly into the groove I2 adjacent the tread portion Illa. of the sole Ill and the ends of the cord are then passed in opposite directions through the passage I3. In this way, the edges He and II of the toe covering portion Ila are drawn tightly into the groove I2 around the tread portion Illa of the sole and substantially in a straight line in the concave edges I} and log on opposite sides of the shank lllb. The opposite ends of the cords are then threaded through the loop-like edges llk and Ilm of the strap portion and are passed through the passage II in opposite directions, drawn tightly and brought around into the groove in the back of the heel portion iilc where they may be tied or otherwise secured. In this way, the edges Ile, Ilf, Ill: and Ilm are drawn down into the groove I2 and firmly anchored in position so that the upper will not separate from the sole.

Ill)

As shown in Figures 5, 6 and '2, the portions of the cord III at the edges lily and Its of the shank do not extend to the bottom of the groove I2 except at the points of intersection of the groove I2 and the apertures I3 and I4 because the cord cannot follow a concave curve. However, because the apertures l3 and Id are at the ends of the shallow arcs at the edges l0! and I9 of the shank, the cord is disposed wholly within the groove l2 at the opposite sides of the shank so that the hem edges IIIc and llm are drawn into and firmly held in the groove l2. An especially strong connection is made because of the fact that the cords are crossed and drawn through the passages I3 and I4, thereby leaving only relatively short portions 'of the cord unsupported. Because of the relatively short unsupported lengths of the portions of the cord I9 between the apertures l3 and I4, the edges llk and Ilm of the upper are retained strongly against inadvertent detachment even though the hem edges llk and Ilm may not be completely in engagement with the bottom of the groove I2, as best shown in Figs. 5 and 6. If necessary to a stronger connection, other passages may be provided in the sole so as to anchor the upper more firmly. For xample, it may be found desirable to provide other passages adjacent the outer ends of the tread and heel portions of the upper.

If desired, the strap portion I lb can be omitted in a sandal type of shoe and in this case, the cord itself may serve as the means for securing the shoe to the foot. The cord, instead of being used for securing the strap portion llb to the foot, may be drawn upwardly from the opposite ends of the openings I3 or I4 through the notches or grooves I5 and I6 or II and I8, respectively, and then tied around the ankle in any attractive arrangement. In order to relieve the tension which might be created around the ankle of the wearer, it will be understood that the cord may be knotted at the end of the aperture I3 or the aperture I4 to hold it tightly around the tread portion of the sole thereby leaving the ends of the cord free to be tied around the ankle.

Also, instead of using a strap type of upper, a heel covering or counter portion as illustrated in Figure 4 may be provided either united with or separate from the toe covering portion Ila. Figure 4 is a rear view of the shoe having a sole 20 like that described above or of more conventional construction including a high heel, if desired, and having the groove 2I extending around its periphery. The upper may include a heel covering or counter portion 22 of conventional appearance having a looped or hemmed edge 23 in which the cord 24 is disposed. A loop or passage 25 is also formed in the back of the counter 20 through which the cord 24 may be passed and tied. Preferably, the cord 24 is either crossed or tied before its opposite ends are passed into the loop 25, thereby securing the edge 23 more firmly to the sole.

It will be understood that the design of the shoe is susceptible to considerable modification and conventionalor widely varying novelty detion, a shank portion and a heel portion, said tread and heel portions having generally convexly curved side edges and said shank portion having opposite concavely curved side edges merging into said convexly curved edges, a groove in and extending around the edge of said tread portion, and along said opposite concavely curved side edges, a first passage extending transversely through said shank portion and communicating with the groove in said opposite side edges at about the junction of said shank portion with said tread portion, a second passage extending transversely through the saidshank portion and communicating with the groove in said side edges of said shank portion at about the junction of said shank portion with said heel portion, an upper having a toe-covering portion, hems forming loops in the lateral edges of said toe-covering portion, a flexible member securing said upper to said sole extending through said loops and along said groove in said tread portion, in opposite directions through said first passage, then along the portions of the groove in said side edges, and then in opposite directions through said second passage, notches in said side edges communicating with said groove at the ends of said second passage and extending upwardly to the top of said sole, said flexible member being tied and tensioned to follow a substantially straight path along the groove in each concavely curved side edge of said shank portion and to draw said loops into said groove in said tread portion to conform the edges of the upper to said tread portion, said flexible member being receivable in said notches and passing upwardly therethrough to be tied around the ankle of the wearer to secure the sole and upper to the foot. y

, 2. A shoe having a replaceable upper comprisinga sole having a tread portion, a shank portion, a heel portion and a foot-engaging surface, said shank portion having concavely curved 0pposite edges and said tread and heel portions having convexly curved edges merging into the edges of said shank portion, transverse passages extending through said sole from side to side substantially at the junctions of said concavely and convexly curved edges, a groove in and extending around the edge of said sole adjacent to said foot-engaging surface and extending between and intersecting the ends of said pass-ages at opposite edges of said sole, a first shaped piece of material forming a toe-covering portion, loops in the lateral edges of said piece, a second shaped piece of material for securing the heel portion to a foot, loops in the lateral edges of said second piece, and a flexible cord securing said first and second pieces of material to said hole, said cord lying in said groove in said tread portion and passing through the loops in said toe-covering portion, in opposite directions through the passage at the end of said shank portion adjacent to said tread portion, through the loops on said second piece of material, then in opposite directions through the passage at the end of said shank portion adjacent to said heel portion, and having its ends fastened together to draw the loops-of the toe-covering portion into said groove around the tread portion and attach the toe-covering portion to said sole, the cord following a substantially straight path in the groove along each edge of said shank portion between said passages to retain the loops of said second piece in the groove in said opposite edges of said sole between the ends of said passages.

LOUISE. KUI'CHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of-this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

